Photos, Healthy Forests, Etc…

Lots to cover in this post. First the Photo of the Week. Since there were no votes, I decided to post what I want to post. I know, that’s a strange concept with this being my blog. 🙂 Remember, next week, you can be part of determining the content of this blog on Saturday by voting on Friday 😉

So, here’s the Photos of the Week. I figured since there have been no votes for a few weeks, which has prolonged edition 5 of the FPQ, having a few pics featured would be little harm. As you may recall, Mom and I recently trekked up to Yellowstone (up since we used the NE Gate). One feature we took in was the Mammoth Hot Springs.

As we were leaving, I saw something more peculiar than a buffalo that manages to not fall through the same piece of ground you and I are warned to not walk on.

Yes, these are employees of the National Park Service, and no, they aren’t adjusting the underground plumbing for the thermal feature show (though it is fun to see them en route to do so 🙂 )

The Ghostbusters? No, they’re spraying weeds!

I don’t know why they’re spraying weeds, unless the weeds are not native to the Park, but then there are wolves that are not native to the Park and it was the NPS that imported them!

Now, normally, I would think nothing of someone spraying weeds, even a group of someones as seen above, but in this case, you can already tell that I thought much of it.

The turquoise spots are not vandalism, nor are they spots of grass that have endured the drought. It’s the dye from the weed spray.

You see the National Park Service, bless their hearts, has this thing about “being natural.” Need some wood for the campfire tonight? Better not touch that tree laying along the trail. It must remain. Granted, it’s not doing much other than rotting, and perhaps it is providing some nutritional value to the ground, but it (along with undergrowth and other dead/dieing/rotting trees is also providing ample fuel for the next bolt of lightning or tossed-out-of-a-car cigarette butt.

While fires do provide some health to the forest, uncontrolled conditions like this provide great risk, which is why I support the Healthy Forest Restoration act of 2003, an act inspired in part by forest fires in the Ponderosa pines of Arizona. I for one, would like to see this legislation expanded to include National Parks, not just forests.

Currently in Cody

‘Tis the Political Season!

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